Undertaker Meaning
/ˈʌndə(ɹ)ˌteɪkə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA funeral director; someone whose business is to manage funerals, burials and cremations.
nounA person receiving land in Ireland during the Elizabethan era, so named because they gave an undertaking to abide by several conditions regarding marriage, to be loyal to the crown, and to use English as their spoken language.
Sentence Examples
I would hate to work as an undertaker and be around dead bodies all day.
Ziri is an undertaker.
I met with the undertaker at the graveyard.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The local ____ carefully prepared the body for the funeral service this morning.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He works as an ____ and he is responsible for making all the necessary arrangements for the funeral today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English undertake English -er English undertaker From undertake (verb) + -er.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A company shall not be appointed to be a water undertaker unless it is a limited company or a statutory water company and shall not be appointed to be a sewerage undertaker unless it is a limited company."
— 1991, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Part II, Chapter I, section 6(5)”, in Water Industry Act 1991, page 8:
"The undertaker of the enterprise is usually known today by the French term entrepreneur because we have surrendered the English word to the undertakers of funerals."
— 2001, Technology, Humans, and Society: Toward a Sustainable World:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The local ____ carefully prepared the body for the funeral service this morning.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He works as an ____ and he is responsible for making all the necessary arrangements for the funeral today.